Oct 11, 2013

Happy Haunted 5k

Last weekend I got to do my first RunDisney race, the Happy Haunted 5k Trail Run that was part of the Tower of Terror 10 Miler weekend. I was super psyched to do this race since I signed up what seems like forever ago.

The race and expo were at Disney's Wide World of Sports. This venue is pretty impressive. It's a huge sports complex right on Disney property.

My best friend, and running partner, Kristina, and I headed out to the expo on Friday night. We just got into the whole running thing just this year, but seeing all that great running gear was like being a kid in a candy store. We tried to not buy EVERYTHING, which was super hard, but did get some cute compression socks. We had been eyeing compression socks for weeks now, but I was glad I waited to buy them at the expo. I would have totally ordered the wrong size had I gotten them online first.﻿

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Then early Saturday morning we put on our matching Minnie running outfits and with Eddie, who was also doing the race, headedback to the Wide World of Sports to get race ready.

Here's a better look at our running costumes. (There will be a post about our handmade running costumes coming up soon!)

The race started in one of the fields at the Wide World of Sports, then looped around back to the woods. There were all different kinds of terrain, most prominently sand. And I was totally not read for the sand or the crowded trail in this part of the race.

But, being Disney, they had tons of characters waiting along the way to keep you going. Since it was a Halloween themed race, all the characters were villians!

the Big Bad Wolf, Captain Hook, Br'er Bear

There was also a runner along the way that didn't quite make it!

We did our best and ran through the parts of the race that we could. (Somtimes it was too crowded to run. We have to get in an earlier corral next time!)﻿

Right as we headed back towards the finish line we saw the grave diggers from the Haunted Mansion. We hadn't stopped for any characters, so we stopped to take a pic with them. They tried to bury Eddie!

We finally made it around the bend to the finish line, where I got my first medal! It was awesome to have that medal hanging around my neck.

After the race we waited to have out pictures taken with the main man, Mickey Mouse. I haven't had a Mickey picutre in years. He was just as nice as I always rememebered and even gave me his arm.

I had a really fun time doing the Happy Haunted 5k. We wished we would have signed up for the 10 miler, but months ago, we thought 3 miles was a huge deal. Now 10 miles seems like not a big deal, so go figure. I think next year we'll be doing the 10 miler. But it was a great experience at my first Disney race. I got a little taste of how the Wine & Dine half marathon will be. I can't wait (and on the other hand I'm still freaking out a bit, and I can totally wait) to be back running at Disney in less than a month.